


It's Been Known To Happen

by vic_amy_z



Category: Franklin & Bash
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-10
Updated: 2012-06-10
Packaged: 2017-11-07 10:56:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/430294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vic_amy_z/pseuds/vic_amy_z
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"We know how men manipulate women. The <i>'Aw shucks, I'm just shy and quirky, let's take it slow'</i>. The next thing you know, it's two AM and you're naked in a Bouncy House!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Been Known To Happen

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to fobmarwi, who reminded me about the quote, and to jekesta, who said there should be fic. Some days, that's all the encouragement a plot bunny needs! (This was supposed to be a quick crack!fic but it kinda got away from me. Again. Yeah, this happens a lot with these two...)

'We know how men manipulate women,' Peter said, 'The _'Aw shucks, I'm just shy and quirky, let's take it slow'_. The next thing you know, it's two AM and you're naked in a Bouncy House!'

'It's been known to happen...' Jared added with a grin. And he wasn't lying. He just wasn't being _entirely_ truthful.

**~~~~~~~~**

While most people who were struggling to run their own business were worried about paying their tax bills or where their next clients were coming from, Peter was worried that parties at the Man Cave were becoming boring.

'It's the same every week,' Peter complained, 'People turn up, they drink, they dance, they go home again...' He flopped theatrically back against the couch cushions as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

' _Women_ turn up,' Jared corrected, 'They drink, they get drunk, they sleep with us. And your problem with this is...?'

'I just think we should try something different, that's all,' Peter said, far too casually for Jared's liking.

'You already have a plan, don't you?' Jared eyed his best friend suspiciously. Peter had always been terrible at hiding anything from Jared.

Animatedly, Peter sat up, the weight of the world having apparently lifted. 'Okay, you remember Doug from college?'

'Yeah, he was a douche,' Jared replied without thinking. 

Doug had been on Peter's course, and they'd bonded one night over beer, pizza and a basketball game while Jared had been completing an eleventh-hour assignment at the library. Jared had never been particularly good at sharing Peter with anyone else, so he'd taken an immediate dislike to Doug on principle.

Peter just shrugged off Jared's jealousy the way he always did. 'Well, I ran into him the other day and it turns out that he's working for a party supplies business now. We got talking and he said he could do us a good deal if we're interested.'

'Great. And if we ever need any _'Happy Birthday'_ balloons or _'Barney the Dinosaur'_ party bags, you should totally give him a call,' Jared said, grabbing a magazine from the coffee table and starting to flick through it, hoping to end the Doug conversation.

'Yeah, only his company also does supplies for more... adult parties.' 

Jared carefully lowered the magazine. 'Okay, you have my interest...' he said, solemnly.

'He can get us a Bucking Bronco for next Saturday.' Jared's eyes widened slightly as Peter continued, 'I'm thinking - Western theme.'

'And by 'Western theme', you mean...?'

'Drunk chicks in tiny cowgirl outfits, riding a large bull in our back yard!' 

'Y'know, I _always_ liked Doug...'

**~~~~~~~~**

Late on Saturday morning, Jared was sitting on the couch eating cereal and watching cartoons, and Peter was in the shower when there was a knock at the door. Dragging himself up, Jared flung open the door and greeted the two men on their doorstep with, 'Mistress Wax's House Of Pain, how may we... Oh, hi!'

'Yeah. Delivery from _'Party Time'_ for a...' the apparently humourless man consulted his clipboard, 'Peter Bash?'

'Hey, scrotum face! It's here!' Jared yelled.

'Tell them to set it up in the back yard,' Peter yelled back over the sound of running water.

'You heard the man,' Jared said, scribbling a signature on the form that was shoved towards him and ushering the men and their boxes through the house. Then he headed for the bathroom, figuring that Peter would be done soon and could oversee the rest of the operation.

Twenty minutes later, he heard the delivery men let themselves out, and ten minutes after that, Jared emerged from his room, rubbing a towel across his head before throwing it casually across the kitchen table. Apparently, Peter was _still_ in the bathroom, thus validating Jared's theory that Peter was, in fact, a complete girl. He opened the fridge, grabbed some juice and then headed out to the yard to inspect their new toy.

Jared stared into the back yard for a couple of minutes. Behind him, he heard Peter finally emerge and head for the kitchen. 'Um... Peter?'

'Hang on, I'm juggling with cartons here, dude. Honestly, would it kill you to put them back in the door where they belong?'

Ignoring Peter's OCD rant on the topic of juice cartons, Jared continued, 'You remember how Doug was kinda flaky in college?'

'Yeah,' Peter replied, his head still in the fridge. 'I think that was a result of being the dorm's pot dealer though.'

'So when you ran into him, it didn't happen to be down at the courthouse, did it?'

'Yeah, it was. Why?'

'Um... You might wanna take a look outside...'

Peter closed the fridge and came to stand next to Jared. They both stared into the back yard for a couple of minutes. 'That's not a Bucking Bronco,' Peter said finally.

**~~~~~~~~**

'Doug! I don't care - you have to fix this!' Peter said tersely. He was in the middle of a heated argument with his old college friend on the topic of what was currently residing in their back yard. 'What do you mean _'I signed for it'_? I didn't sign for anything; I was in the shower for crying out loud!' Peter placed a hand over the mouthpiece and hissed at Jared, 'Dude! Did you forge my signature again?!'

Jared just shrugged. 'Well, I didn't know that it wasn't what we ordered,' he hissed back. It wasn't his fault that Peter's signature came almost as naturally to him as his own. And it had got them out of enough scrapes in the past, so Jared felt that Peter shouldn't hold this one time against him.

'Yes, I realise that there may well be some disappointed kids in Edendale this afternoon, but if I were them I wouldn't be too disappointed - they've got a Bucking Bronco and a cocktail fountain, they're gonna have one hell of a ninth birthday party. In the meantime, what the fuck am I supposed to do with a fifteen-foot Bouncy House?!' Suddenly, Peter held the phone away from his ear, and Jared got the distinct feeling that Doug was telling him _exactly_ what he could do with a fifteen-foot Bouncy House. 'Oh, that's nice! Well the next time you get busted for possession, don't call...' Peter trailed off as Doug had clearly hung up on him.

'Y'know, I _never_ liked Doug...' Jared offered.

'Thanks man.' Peter wandered over to look dejectedly out into the yard again. 'You might as well go ahead and cancel the party.'

'What?!' Jared said, his head whipping 'round to stare at Peter.

'In less than seven hours, women in pink cowboy hats and ridiculously tiny outfits are gonna start showing up here, expecting the ride of their lives...'

'And the Bucking Bronco,' Jared added without thinking, which would usually have got an automatic high five from Peter, but not today.

'And all we have is an inflatable kids' play area. We might as well give it up now. Screw it, I'm going back to bed. Wake me when it's Monday,' he finished with a sigh.

Okay, this was getting ridiculous! Jared was just about to open his mouth to tell Peter that it was only a stupid party, and he needed to get over himself, when he realised that perhaps Peter's crushed demeanour might not be _all_ about the party. They'd struggled a bit with clients recently, had a few rent payments where it had been down to the wire for making them on time, and then there was the break-up with Janie. Perhaps Peter needed this party to go well because it had become something of a metaphor for his life. Or maybe that was just way too existential for a Saturday morning, and Peter needed to get his head out of his ass and stop being so childish about the whole thing. Either way, Jared knew that he had to fix it.

And just like that, he got an idea. It was such a brilliant idea, that he almost looked up to see if a light bulb really _had_ come on over his head. He grabbed hold of Peter's arm as he was heading back to his room and spun him around. 'You're not going anywhere...'

'Come on, Jared, just lemme go back to bed.'

'Nope, you have to get this place straightened up because we're partying tonight whether you like it or not.' Peter started to open his mouth to protest, but Jared held up a hand to stop him. 'I don't wanna hear it, Peter! Right now I've got a ton of stuff to do, so get cleaning...' and Jared headed off in the direction of Pindar's room.

He listened carefully at the door, then he knocked a few times and said loudly, 'Pindar, I'm coming in so you better have pants on this time.'

There was a sound of some frantic scrambling and then the door opened and Pindar's face appeared. 'What is it, Jared?'

'I need you to change the e-vite for tonight and get it out again as soon as possible. Can you do that?'

'You know I can, Jared, but the party starts in like seven hours. Plus, I already bought my hat.'

'Save it for Halloween, cowboy, there's been a slight technical hitch...' And Jared proceeded to explain exactly what he needed Pindar to do. 

Ten minutes later, he was screeching to a halt in front of Carmen's door. 'Carmen! I've gotta get to the supermarket, like now, and I need your help, so get your ass... Whoa!' Carmen had yanked her door open. She was holding one of those female torture devices in her hand; one side of her hair looked normal and shiny and how Carmen's hair usually looked, while the other side... Well, Jared was pretty sure that electricity had been involved somehow.

'Really, Jared? You want me to take you to the supermarket _now_?' she asked, voice heavy with sarcasm.

'Um, I guess it could wait until you're done...' Jared gestured vaguely at whatever it was Carmen had going on with her hair, 'But yeah - change of plan, supplies needed, I'll explain in the car...' and Jared quickly shot off again before she decided to come at him with that iron-thing.

In another fifteen minutes they were both headed out of the door, Jared calling strict instructions to a bewildered Peter not to forget to vacuum under the couch as they left.

**~~~~~~~~**

By just after eight o'clock the party was most definitely on. Peter and Jared stood together in the yard, with Peter's look of complete and utter admiration alternating between Jared and the scene in front of them. It was difficult to count exactly how many there were because they kept moving, but a number of women, wearing playsuits, baby-dolls or other tiny dresses were currently bouncing up and down on the large inflatable house in their yard, their hair in pigtails, squealing like over-excited toddlers. All around the Man Cave were dishes of jellybeans, gummy bears and other childhood favourites. Carmen was even making balloon animals. Okay, so she could only make sausage dogs, but they were better than any of Jared's attempts, all of which had turned out looking vaguely obscene. There was even Jello - or rather, Jello shots - and cupcakes, and no one could deny that Jared's _'Indulge Your Inner Child'_ party was a huge success.

Suddenly, Peter flung his arms around Jared's neck and hugged him tightly. 'I dunno how you did it, dude, but I'm officially having a great night. You're the best friend anyone could ever have, you know that, right?'

'Okay, how many of those Jello shots have you had, Peter?' Jared asked with a grin, but still holding on to Peter.

'Um... two lime, three strawberry and an orange?' Peter ventured, pulling away from Jared finally, 'But that's like my five a day right there!' he finished proudly.

'Firstly, that's six not five,' Jared noted with amusement, 'And secondly, they're almost pure vodka so you might wanna step away from them for a bit, yeah?'

'Whatever... Look, there's bouncing!' And Peter turned back to watch the Bouncy House again.

The Bouncy House really was turning out to be way more popular that Jared could possibly have hoped for. In fact, it was so popular, that they'd had to station Pindar out there with the kitchen timer to make sure that it didn't get too overcrowded and that everyone got a fair turn. A job that he'd taken to with far too much pleasure, in Jared's opinion, as he was now ruling the Bouncy House with a rod of iron. Shouts of, _'Hey! No roughhousing!'_ and _'Don't make me come over there!'_ were heard on more than one occasion. And it was almost impossible for any guys to get on there at all, although Jared wasn't necessarily complaining about that...

In fact, he decided, as there seemed to be plenty of entertainment to go around, maybe he should look at getting some for himself. Recognising someone he'd had his eye on for a while, Jared sauntered over to the Bouncy House and tried to make eye contact. Which took several minutes because everyone on there was having so much fun.

'Hey, Meg!' he called finally, giving up on trying to get her attention by exuding an aura of casual disinterest.

'Hey, Jared!' she called back, bouncing over to him. The way that her blonde bunches - among other things - were bouncing up and down was proving to be very distracting.

'It looks like thirsty work up there... You wanna come inside and get a drink?' Jared asked her. 'I'll show you my balloon animals,' he added, with a grin that Peter had once described as having the ability to charm the panties off a nun.

She looked at him for a few seconds before saying, 'Well... I would, Jared, but I _only just_ got on here. If I get off now, I'll have to go to the back of the queue again, and it's a _really_ long wait!'

'Hang on a second,' Jared said with a confident air. 'Hey, Pindy! Meg can come back on here later, right? I just wanna... borrow her for a while.'

'Sure, Jared,' Pinder offered, 'As long as she joins the queue like everyone else.'

'What?!' Jared exclaimed, staring at Pindar.

'I can't be accused of favouritism, Jared. Not when I'm in such a position of power.'

'Pindar, you're in charge of a kids' inflatable and a kitchen timer - it's hardly a seat on the State Senate!' Jared looked helplessly back at Meg, hoping that she'd change her mind. 

'Sorry, Jared,' she shrugged and bounced away again, giggling as her dress fluttered up and down and leaving Jared with nothing to do except watch and throw death stares at Pindar. Eventually, he stalked off indoors. It wasn't like he'd get to go on the Bouncy House either...

Once inside, Jared amused himself for a while by creating new cocktail shots with different flavoured jellybeans. After the success of white rum with coconut jellybeans (which, after the horror that had been gin and peanut butter jellybeans, wasn't too hard) he started to wonder where Peter had got to. Jared only hoped that his best friend was having more luck than he was. And if he _was_ getting lucky, that Peter wasn't as _drunk_ as he was! Wow, Jared _really_ needed to step away from the bar...

Which he fully intended to do just as soon as he'd introduced himself to the stunning brunette who'd just sidled up to him. 'Whatcha makin'?' she asked shyly, sliding on to the bar stool next to Jared. The cute outfit she was wearing rode up over her thighs, exposing something small with ruffles on underneath. Jared swallowed hard.

'I... haven't given it a name yet,' he said, moving a little closer to her. 'Here, why don't you give it a try for me and tell me what you think?' He poured another shot of rum and popped a couple of jellybeans into the glass, swirling them gently until they started to melt a little. 'I'm Jared, by the way,' he offered her a grin.

'Katie,' she replied, grinning back. Well, this was looking a lot more hopeful. She reached out towards the glass that Jared had set down on the bar, but in doing so, she caught sight of her watch. 'Oh, is that the time? I'm so sorry but I've got to go, I'm gonna be late,' and she slid down off the bar stool. 'It was lovely meeting you, Jared,' she called as she ran out towards the yard.

Before Jared could check whether it was the state of his breath or his armpits that was killing his sex life, he saw another woman running in the same direction, closely followed by Peter, who was only wearing boxers and clutching a t-shirt in front of him. 'Hey, don't go!' he called, 'Come on, we were just getting...' but she was already out of earshot. Jared shot him a questioning look, to which Peter replied, 'Seriously? He's doing _timed tickets_ now?'

Jared had to laugh, if only because the realisation that neither of them appeared to be able to compete with a Bouncy House was just so ridiculous. 'Drink?' he offered, with a conciliatory smile.

'No, I'm going for a shower,' Peter replied, scowling.

'I thought you didn't get the chance to...'

'A _cold_ one.'

Suddenly Jared understood why Peter was still holding the balled-up t-shirt in front of him...

**~~~~~~~~**

It was after one AM when the last guests finally left, clutching their party bags full of cake and several of Carmen's balloon animals.

She yawned and stretched as she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. 'Okay, I'm going to bed. I never want to blow anything...' Jared started to open his mouth, 'Don't. Even. Go there,' she warned. Jared wisely closed his mouth again.

'Yeah, I think I'm going to go to bed too,' Pindar said, looking slightly nervous.

'Yeah, you _better_ run, Pindar,' Peter yelled towards his retreating footsteps. 'This isn't over - there'll be words tomorrow!'

'And some of those words come with a complimentary ass kicking!' Jared added.

Peter and Jared collapsed, side by side, on the couch. There was a beat, and then they both cracked up laughing. They knew it had been a great party, but the fact that they'd both struck out because of a kids' inflatable was something that they just had to laugh at.

'Well, I suppose that now everyone's gone home, we should at least get to have a go on it,' Peter said brightly.

'Really?' Jared questioned. 'Have you not had one too many of those Jello shots for bouncing to be a good idea?'

'Nah...' Peter held out both his hands to haul Jared up off the couch. 'Besides, if I puke, I'm making Pindar clean up!'

'Dude, you're evil!'

They headed out to the yard. There was a pause as Peter and Jared stood in front of the Bouncy House for a few seconds, silently acknowledging the fact that it had bested them both. Then they kicked off their shoes and socks, and clambered onto the inflatable, laughing. For a moment, they just kind of stood around, getting used to the feel of the ground moving underneath them. Then Jared tried a couple of experimental bounces and soon they were both leaping around like big kids.

'Hey! This is awesome!' Jared exclaimed, slightly breathless. 'I can see why that chick bailed on you, dude, this has gotta be way better for bouncing on than your bed!'

'You _do_ know that the main reason for taking a girl back to your room is not to bounce on the bed, right?' Peter asked, laughing. 'On second thoughts, that might explain some of the stranger noises I've heard coming from your room!'

'You're full of crap!' Jared shot back, still bouncing up and down.

'The walls are pretty thin, Jared. I know way more about your sex life than I ever wanted to!' 

'Yeah, like how awesome it is!'

'If you want to call a succession of women who all say that I was better, _'awesome'_ , then...'

'Oh, it's _on_...' Jared cut him off and made a run at Peter to take him down, but unfortunately for Jared, Peter saw it coming. He bounced neatly to one side and Jared ran head first into the side of the Bouncy House, rebounding spectacularly and landing on his ass.

Still determined to pound on his best friend, Jared then spent several minutes trying to get back on his feet, but every time he got close, Peter just bounced extra hard, which knocked him over again. Finally exhausted, he just lay on his back for a while, laughing and watching Peter jumping up and down triumphantly. Then, Jared picked just the right moment to kick out, taking Peter's legs out from under him and dumping him on his ass next to Jared.

For a few seconds, there was nothing but the sound of both of them laughing and trying to breathe normally again. Then Peter said, 'Don't go thinking you won this round - that was dick move and you know it!'

'So's insulting my sex life, dude!'

'Yeah, whatever...' Peter finished, lamely. Jared just laughed at him as they lay side-by-side, staring up at the night sky. Then Peter said, 'I can't work out if everything's moving because we're on a Bouncy House, or because I'm wasted?'

Jared turned his head to look at his best friend. 'Did you have anything to eat tonight?'

'I had Jello?' Peter replied, the questioning tone to his voice clearly asking if that counted.

Jared grinned. 'Did you have anything that _didn't_ contain alcohol?' Peter thought for a second and then shook his head. 'Hang on, I'll be right back...'

Jared slid to the edge of the Bouncy House and tried to work out the best way to get off it. In the end, he settled for just rolling off the front of it, which was effective, if inelegant. He returned a few minutes later, clutching a bowl of gummy bears.

'Not quite the carb-fest I had in mind,' Peter grumbled good-naturedly, grabbing a handful anyway.

'Yeah, well the cake's all gone, so just shut up and be grateful I'm sharing them with you,' Jared told him with an affectionate smack 'round the back of the head as he lay down next to Peter again.

Peter chewed thoughtfully. 'Didn't we practically live off these things for an entire summer once?'

'Yep, pretty much,' Jared replied, popping a green one in his mouth.

Peter laughed at the face he pulled. 'I love that the lime ones still make you wince, even after all these years... Bet you can't still catch them in your mouth the way you used to.'

'Bet you I can!' Jared threw a gummy bear up in the air... which landed about three feet above his head because he'd forgotten to account for the fact that he was lying down! Peter laughed so hard at him that Jared thought he might actually have a coronary. 'Yeah, like you're in a fit state to do any better,' he told him, crossly.

And so began several minutes of trial and error experimentation with angles and trajectories, until they could reliably get the bears to land in their mouths, as opposed to over their heads or, as Peter managed several times, in Jared's eye! They both reached into the bowl again; Peter came up empty because Jared had the last gummy bear in his hand.

'Hey! No fair taking the last one!' Peter complained, loudly.

'What? This one?' Jared teased, waving the red bear in front of Peter. 'You want it?' Peter made a grab for it but missed. 'You can come and get it if you like...' and with a grin he stuck it between his teeth, waggling the end of it suggestively at Peter. 

Jared expected an elbow in the ribs for that, or maybe a half-hearted kick to the shins. What he didn't expect, was for Peter to roll over and pull Jared towards him or for him to grab the other end of the gummy bear with his teeth, bringing their lips together. For a split second, the world seemed to forget to spin on its axis as Jared found himself staring into familiar brown eyes that were too close to see clearly. Then Peter bit the gummy bear in two and pulled away slightly, coming back into focus as he did so.

Jared chewed thoughtfully, very aware of the fact that Peter was doing the same. They were still lying facing each other; Peter had one hand on the small of Jared's back to keep them from rolling apart again. Carefully, he placed his own hand on Peter's hip. Just to steady himself because for some reason his heart felt like it was fluttering around inside his chest. He decided that one of them should probably say something.

'When I said I'd _share_...' But Jared didn't get to finish his sentence. Peter cut him off with a soft kiss, which quickly developed into a less-than-soft kiss. Jared could taste the raspberry flavour on Peter's lips and was instantly hit by two conflicting memories; the last time they'd shared gummy bears and the last time they'd kissed. Conflicting, because there was at least four years between the two...

**~~~~~~~~**

In their final year of High School, Peter had fallen in with a good crowd of friends. They understood that Peter was tight with them between the hours of half-eight and three, but that anything they did outside of those hours would involve Jared, and they were cool with that. Jared was too - he liked them a lot better than any of the kids who went to his school, and as long none of them tried to lay claim to Peter, they all got along just fine.

One night, they were hanging at Nadine's house, which they often did because her parents had a great recreation room over the garage and didn't complain about them playing music or having the occasional drink. In fact, after Peter's mom, Jared thought that Nadine had the coolest parents in the world. That night, someone had managed to score some beers and then later on a joint had been passed 'round, so the group was pleasantly buzzed when Dylan had grabbed one of the empty beer bottles, placed it on the floor in the centre of the room and given it a good spin.

'Come on guys, you know the drill,' Dylan laughed.

They all groaned but gathered around in a loose circle anyway, slightly too drunk and giggly to care about the fact that it was a silly kids' party game. A couple of rounds went by with mostly chaste pecks on the lips and a lot of blushing. Then it was Nadine's turn to spin and it landed on Lauren, which got a chorus of approval from the guys in the group. She blushed furiously and gave them all a look before going to spin the bottle again.

'Hey! What are you doing?' Luke cried out in mock indignation. 'I think you've missed out the important bit there.'

'Oh, grow up!' Nadine told him with a grin. 'We're only doing boy-girl kissing.'

'Um... Did anyone actually _see_ a copy of the official rules?' Peter asked, innocently.

'I'm fairly sure I didn't sign anything specifying boy-girl only, did you?' Dylan said to Jared, who shook his head, trying not to laugh.

'You boys are such pigs!' Amy added, laughing too.

Peter gestured between the two girls, as if the matter had been decided. To be fair, Lauren looked like she was about to make the first move, but Nadine put her hands on her hips and said to Peter, 'Really? So if your turn landed on Jared, you'd kiss him, would you?' Her lips twitched with a smile she was trying to suppress.

'Come on, Nadine,' Luke called out, 'they're practically married - no one believes they haven't done it already!'

'Fuck you!' Peter shot back with a grin, throwing one of the floor cushions at him for good measure. He turned back to Nadine. 'And in the spirit of the game, I would absolutely kiss Jared, because anything else would be like cheating. So get on with it!'

'Well, when it's your turn, you can kiss who you like,' and with that she reached out and spun the bottle again. It slowed and eventually pointed towards Peter. 'Oh, for...' Nadine rolled her eyes theatrically, 'Come here then.'

Jared watched as Peter crawled across the circle towards her. She tried to get away with just kissing the side of his head but Peter wrapped his arm around Nadine's waist and pulled her towards him so he could kiss her on the mouth. Not that she appeared to mind too much, as the kiss went on for several seconds and looked like it involved more than a little tongue.

After that it was Peter's turn to spin. He carefully lined the bottle up and spun it with a deft flick of his wrist. For a split second it hovered on Tess, who was sitting next to Jared. Then it gave a final roll and landed most definitely on Jared. There was a cacophony of shrieks from everyone else in the room, and Jared could feel himself blushing.

'Okay, Peter,' Nadine laughed, 'Let's see you put your money where your mouth is!'

Peter looked over shyly at Jared; the question he didn't need to ask was written all over his face. Jared nodded almost imperceptibly and Peter's face broke out into a huge grin that Jared found extremely contagious.

'Come on then, lay one on me,' Jared said, noting the slight tremble in his voice but hoping that no one else did. 'And you better make it a good one,' he added.

'Only way I know how, dude!'

As they were sitting side by side, they didn't exactly have far to move. Peter sort of shuffled over towards Jared so they were kneeling facing each other and after a beat, he leaned in. For some reason, it took Jared by surprise; he knew that Peter was going to kiss him, but he still found it hard to process the fact that it was actually happening. Suddenly, he was very aware that Peter had one arm around his waist and the other was working its way around his shoulders. He could feel Peter's fingers stroking the back of his neck and Peter's mouth was warm against his. It was only when he felt a tongue brush against his lips, that Jared realised Peter meant to _really_ kiss him. For some people, that might have been a moment to freak out, but for Jared it just meant that he needed to concentrate really hard on not being a lousy kisser.

Kissing his best friend was quite nice, Jared decided. Peter tasted a little of beer and weed, but mostly he just tasted of Peter; warm and comforting and kind of like home. There were hoots and whistles coming from the other people in the room, but Peter wasn't letting go of him, so Jared just went with it. Finally, it was the shout of, 'Dude! Get a fucking room!' from Dylan that made both of them grin and broke the kiss.

Peter gave Jared a smile that made his stomach tighten, and his fingers squeezed Jared's side briefly before letting go, just to let him know that they were okay. Then he turned to the rest of the circle and said, 'And that's how you don't cheat at Spin the Bottle, so the rest of you can just man up and get on with it! 

**~~~~~~~~**

When Peter pulled away this time, he was smiling again, just like he had been all those years ago, and Jared's stomach still felt tight and fluttery.

'Well, we haven't done _that_ in a while,' Peter said, still holding on to Jared.

'Nope,' Jared conceded with a grin. Then he decided to skip over any awkwardness by continuing, 'But at least you actually _chose_ me this time, instead of just getting me by mistake.'

There was a pause, then Peter said softly, 'I chose you the last time, you idiot.'

'Wha?' Jared was confused.

'I rigged it so the bottle would land on you,' Peter admitted, not quite looking Jared in the eye.

'Really?' Jared was even more confused.

'Yeah. Why d'you think I spent so long lining it up just right?'

'And there was me thinking that you never paid attention in Physics. But why?'

Peter shrugged. 'So I could do this...' and he pressed another kiss to Jared's lips. 

And while they were kissing, Jared considered how his best friend had engineered a stupid teenage party game, just so that he could kiss him. And how he was surprisingly okay with that. And how much better they'd both gotten at this!

When they finally came up for air, Jared told him, 'You could have just asked, y'know.'

'Yeah, 'cause that wouldn't have been an awkward conversation at all,' Peter said. ' _'Hey buddy, how was school today? Fancy coming over to my place so we can make out?'_ '

Jared laughed. 'Yeah, okay, point taken. So does that mean that you did all this,' Jared waved a hand to indicate their general surroundings, 'just so you could kiss me again?' 'Cause I gotta say, I admire a man who plays a long game as much as anyone, but...'

Now it was Peter's turn to laugh. 'No, this turned out to be something of a happy accident. I mean, I'm _good_ but I'm not _that_ good!'

'Well, that's okay then. 'Cause I was starting to think that I might be living with some sort of evil genius!'

'Hey, I never said I wasn't an evil genius!' Peter replied, offering Jared a filthy grin. And as if to prove his point, he rolled them both over so Jared was pinned down underneath him, and proceeded to demonstrate some of the more evil things that he was capable of. Most of which seemed to involve his tongue...

Ten minutes later, Jared had lost his t-shirt and was well on the way to losing his jeans too. There would be time for sensible thoughts later. Thoughts like _'Is this one of our better ideas?'_ and _'Shouldn't I be more freaked out by this?'_ But those thoughts would have to happen at a time when Jared was more sober. And when Peter wasn't simultaneously grinding their hips together, biting Jared's neck and pinching his nipple all at the same time, because those things were not conducive to thoughts of any kind.

'Been wondering,' Jared murmured between kisses. 'You think Doug'll let us keep the Bouncy House?'

'Why? You thinking they won't want it back after we've finished with it?' Peter said with a wicked look on his face.

'No!' Jared replied in exasperation. Although now that was _exactly_ what Jared was thinking, and it was making it hard to think about anything else. 'It's just that I love having so much space, that's all. It's gonna be tough downsizing to regular bed after this.' Jared demonstrated his point by gripping Peter's thighs with his knees, pushing with one arm and rolling them over so that he was sitting across Peter's hips, allowing the residual motion of the inflatable to rock them both together in a way that made Peter moan out loud. Jared hoped that he got the insinuation that they'd be doing this in a bed in future. 'Cause honestly? Well, it might be the Jello talking, but right then, he didn't think that making out with Peter was something that he'd be willing to give up any time soon.

'Yeah, but it barely fits in the yard,' Peter pointed out, reasonably, 'So it's certainly not going to fit in either of our rooms. And I _really_ don't fancy the idea of having to come outside every time I want to get you naked...' he finished, rolling his hips to make Jared squirm and suck in a sharp breath.

Yeah, Peter _totally_ got Jared. 'Good point,' he admitted, trying hard not to blush. 'Besides, we'd probably end up having Pindar out here with his kitchen timer!'

They both laughed at the horror of that thought, and then Peter was pulling Jared down into another kiss and effortlessly rolling them over again. Jared thought that he could _really_ get to like being pinned down by Peter. 'Then I guess we should make the most of this thing while we still have it,' Peter whispered against Jared's neck, as one hand moved down and started to pop the buttons on Jared's jeans.

Ten minutes after that and they were both completely naked, testing out the Bouncy House in ways that it was almost certainly never designed for...

**~~~~~~~~**

Carmen picked her way through the leftover party debris and headed for the kitchen where she cleared a path to the coffee machine and put on a fresh pot. It was still quite early so there was no chance that any of the guys would be up yet, which is exactly why Carmen liked having these mornings to herself. While she was waiting for her coffee to finish brewing, she surveyed the damage. There was no doubt that it had been a great night but the downside of living in Party Central was always getting stuck with the clean-up. 

Coffee in hand, Carmen headed out to the yard for some fresh air. That was in a pretty sorry state too; at some point in the night, the small generator that had been keeping the Bouncy House inflated had switched itself off, and the thing was now mostly deflated. It also appeared to be moving. Carmen was just about to grab a broom and give it a good smack, in case racoons had found their way in there, when she heard voices.

'Um, Peter? I think we broke the Bouncy House.'

'Yeah, among other things...'

'Okay, why do I have a gummy bear stuck to my ass?'

'Hey, that's where it went!'

'Ow! Did you just bite me?!'

'I was going for the gummy bear. You were collateral damage. And I didn't hear you complaining last night.'

'Shut up and get back over here, I'm cold.'

'How is that my fault?'

'You got me naked, remember?'

'Oh yeah, it's all coming back to me now...'

Before the conversation got any more graphic, Carmen turned around slowly, went back inside as quietly as she could and headed straight back to bed. She had a feeling that she would need something a _lot_ stronger than caffeine to deal with whatever the hell had happened out there last night...

**~~~~END~~~~**


End file.
